A Study on Juveniles in Tenement Society
by Basil-Ovelby
Summary: Sometimes it's the experiences you have in life that shape who you are. And sometimes it's not. Andrew centric. Pre-game timeline.


I've been wanting to write something with Andrew for quite a while now. I've also had a bit of hankerin' to write a pre-game fic. Thus, I decided to kill two birds with one stone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A Study on Juveniles in Tenement Society

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was the sun that got to him when he stepped outside. The harsh, blinding sun. He had to bring a hand up to cover his eyes, his shoulders instinctively hunching down as he clambered across the dusty play-yard.

He'd never been a big fan of the sun.

He gave a slight cough as his eyes got adjusted to the changing brightness, finally able to remove his hand from his face. Kids were running past him, anxious to be free of the tortuous hell that everyone their age had to go through: second grade.

Andrew stopped walking, simply gazing around himself for a few minutes. Every so often, someone from behind would bump against him, causing his body to get pushed forward a bit, but still, he didn't move. His tail had curled in towards his body to protect itself.

"Hey kid, move it!"

This time he was shoved purposefully, flailing his arms slightly as he found the ground rise up to meet him. He felt the rough dirt slam into his knees and hands, and he ground his teeth together. He kept his eyes trained downward, attempting to hold in the sudden wetness in his eyes.

The barrage of children continued until only a trickle remained, and soon Andrew was the only one left save for a few stragglers that were still exiting the building. With a small sigh, he pushed himself back up to his feet, dusting off his knees. His shoulders hung a bit dejectedly.

Coughing slightly, he began to move his way along, taking the same direction everyone else had. The playground a short ways ahead of him was already packed to the brim with kids, the creak of swings and shouts of excitement indicating that recess was now in full-session. He fiddled with the arm-warmer he liked to wear on his right arm, gazing out at the flurry of activity.

With only a slight hesitation, he walked out onto the woodchipped area that surrounded the playground.

Only to receive another shove as a boy about his height went sprinting past, obviously not having seen him. He wasn't surprised at all as he fell backwards onto his rear, his expression not even reflecting that he'd noticed.

He remained there a few minutes. It seemed like far too much effort to get up.

Blowing upwards, he attempted to get an annoying bit of hair out of his eyes, then scanned around himself almost ruefully. A strange-looking pigeon-boy with buggy eyes was staring at him just a short ways off, an odd smile on his face.

Andrew decided he should get up.

Walking over towards the center of the playground, he scrunched up his nose as he looked towards the tall slide just a short ways off. He could go down it, he supposed. Not that it would do much for him.

He made his way to the rather lengthy line, shuffling his feet in the woodchips. A small, white dog stood in front of him, wearing a pink jumper. She seemed quite excited by the prospect of going down the slide.

It took about five minutes to get through the line. He was just about to head up the narrow, metal staircase when a rather menacing shadow seemed to overtake most of him. He felt his jaw tighten as he slowly turned his head.

"Thanks for savin' my place in line, monkey brain."

The bull in front of him had his hands on his hips, an evil-looking grin spread across his face. He was obviously older than most of the other kids here, easily fourth or fifth grade.

Andrew wanted to duck his head, cower on the ground and close his eyes, but he continued staring straight at the older boy. He gripped the handrail of the stairs so hard he felt his hand begin to ache.

"You must have the wrong 'monkey', 'cuz I only save spots for domesticated animals."

He'd known it wasn't a good idea, but he hadn't known just _how_ wrong it was until he felt the bull's grip in the front of his tank top. He was lifted in the air like nothing more than a toothpick.

The bull let out a rather angered growl, practically pushing his face up into the smaller ape's. "You know, I don't like smart kids." Andrew could practically see the fleas crawling beneath his hair. "I don't like them one, little, bit."

"Why? Too difficult for you to understand? I always _thought_ bulls had smaller brains than everyone else." It was out before he could stop himself.

The growl that followed this was much louder than the last had been, and Andrew felt himself fly to the ground, the wind knocked out of him as he felt the woodchips slam against him. He instinctively began crawling backwards, trying to make himself as small as possible. For some reason, he couldn't help but notice that the small dog-girl that had gone on the slide before him was now standing next to it, watching him. In fact, almost everyone around had stopped what they were doing and were now watching him.

He was just about to dart away when he felt a sharp tug from behind him, followed by a rather intense pain in his rear. The bull had stepped on his tail. He felt himself fling backwards almost comically as his fingers scraped uselessly against the woodchips.

There was laughter from behind him.

"Awww, poor, poor monkey brain can't get away." The bull dug his heel in harder which elicited a pained squeak from Andrew.

More laughter.

He felt tears spring to his eyes. "I'll... I'll tell my uncle!"

"Oh no! Not his uncle!" The bull's mocking voice was taunting him now. "Poor little uncle's boy's gonna go tattle! I'm so scared!"

He whimpered as the pain intensified. The bull was walking up his tail like a tightrope until he had one foot planted firmly on his rear, pushing him down into the ground.

"Why don't you tell your uncle that you're a goody-two-shoes brat who doesn't respect his elders?!"

There was a sudden yelp of surprise from the crowd, followed by a flurry of movement as the kids began scattering.

"Carlton, I'd get my foot off that boy this instant if I were you."

The bull turned his head in surprise, wavering slightly. "M...Mrs. Tuele!" The weight left Andrew's back, allowing him to lift his head up.

The parrot that was their schoolteacher was standing only a few feet away now, a clipboard in her hands as she glared sternly towards the bull. "That's the second time this week I've found you bullying the younger kids. What did I tell you last time would happen if I found you doing it again?"

The bull lowered his head. "...you'd... send me to the principal?"

"_Ex_actly right, Carlton. Now march!" She grabbed one of his small horns, ushering him back towards the building. "You just wait 'til your father hears about this!"

Andrew pushed himself up with his hands as he heard Carlton whine the entire way back to the school. He idly brought a hand behind him to rub at his backside where it still ached, chewing his bottom lip.

The playground had returned to its normal state, the line in front of the slide having reformed and the swings squeaking once more. He turned around, stretching his tail out with a slight wince. As he looked up, he found the strange pigeon-boy not more than two feet from him, that same smile plastered across his face.

Andrew felt his eye twitch, instinctively taking a step back.

The other boy didn't move except to tilt his head slightly.

He was glued to the spot for a moment, unable to look away from the boy. Finally, with a small whimper, he took off, away from the playground.

He didn't know where he was going; he just knew that he had to get away. The sound of his feet thumping against the concrete below him seemed to echo in his ears. He reached the fence that enclosed the entire schoolyard and practically fell against it, clasping his hands around the wire grating.

His chest rose and fell as he let his full weight lean into the fence, his face pressed up against it. He felt it coming after a few seconds, and soon he was coughing again, the dry, rattling in his throat oddly comforting.

He looked out past the fence, eyes peeping through the wire diamonds. The school was just on the edge of the downtown area, almost as if forming the line separating the high-class from the slums. Tall, sparkling buildings towered their way up into the sky, the sun glinting off almost harshly. A few people were walking by on the sidewalk, most likely coming back from their lunch breaks.

Fiddling once more with his arm-warmer, he let his head fall slightly, eyes focused on the concrete beneath his feet. His eyes had narrowed slightly, obviously something formulating beneath his skull.

Without much of a second thought, he'd grasped the fence once more, curving his fingers around the wires in an attempt to pull himself up. His arms shook precariously, looking like twigs blowing in an unfelt breeze, but with a few added bursts of strength, he was able to pull himself to the top.

He tried swinging his legs around over the top, but was met with an unpleasant surprise as his left foot got caught, forcing him to land straddled over the bar. He gave a small whimper, immediately falling forward. His hands grasped the bar in an attempt to stop himself, but despite his best efforts, his body began sliding off. He closed his eyes in fear, arms flailing.

But, surprisingly, the impact didn't come.

He glanced about, finding himself suspended in the air. It was the all-too-familiar pain from behind him that told him he'd caught himself with his tail.

He gave a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders and arms relax. Unfortunately, his own weight was a bit too much for the scrawny muscles in his rear appendage, and he abruptly lost his grip, sending him face-first into the ground below him.

He laid there a moment, not even moving. Once he'd finally caught his breath, he attempted to push himself up, giving a small groan as he did so. The impact had left him severely winded, and his nose was now hurting terribly. He brought a hand to it to find a small bit of blood come back on his fingers.

His eyes were beginning to tear up again, but he quickly shook them away, forcing himself to get to his feet. He was a bit shaky at first, his knees wobbling against each other. It took him a few steps to fully reorient himself.

He had, however, made it across the fence. He looked back at it rather triumphantly, bringing a hand up to rub at a newly-formed bump on his head.

A sudden paranoia rushed through him and he turned around, glancing about quickly. There wasn't anyone there. The feeling remained, though, and he couldn't fight the urge to get away. It took him less than a second to start making his way down the sidewalk.

He darted in and out of the alleyways surrounding the nearby buildings. He would peek out to make sure no one was near him before running to the next one. He had no idea where he was going, what he was doing - all he knew was that he didn't want to go back. He didn't really want to go downtown either, so he began veering off to the left, leaving the main street.

The buildings became more and more compact as he went along, the alleyways getting narrower and the buildings themselves losing their height. There were a number of more people milling about, some walking and some simply standing around talking. He saw a postal worker ride by on a bicycle.

Feeling slightly braver, he let himself come out from the alleyways, looking around him as he walked on the rather disheveled sidewalk. Barely anyone even glanced at him, only turning their head slightly if anything. A rather large walrus was watching him from his spot sitting on the curb, but he merely yawned, scratching his chest.

As he became less concerned with being seen, he took a much greater notice of other things, in particular, the smells. It was like a giant wave of scents, each one smelling more delicious than the last. He passed by a number of small, outdoor markets, as well as a few shops, offering him glimpses of anything from freshly-grilled kabobs to jar upon jar of candy.

It wasn't until he passed by a bakery, however, that he felt himself forced to a halt. His stomach rumbled unceremoniously as he glanced in the window, bread, rolls and cakes looming just beyond his touch. He walked to the glass, pressing his hands and nose against it as he gazed inside.

He hadn't had lunch yet.

His stomach rumbled again as he chewed on his bottom lip, eying a particularly delicious-looking piece of sweet bread. In the background, he could see shelves of baked goods that had just come out of the oven. They were taunting him.

He let himself fall backwards to a normal standing position, head tilted downwards. He didn't have any money to buy anything, so why was he torturing himself like this? He brought a hand up to scratch behind one of his ears, sighing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the alleyway that loomed just to the side of the bakery. He looked around, suddenly nervous, then walked ever so slowly to glance down it. There was a large pile of boxes stacked against the side of the building. Above the boxes was a rectangular hole.

How strange.

Looking around once more, he made his way down the alleyway as nonchalantly as possible. He stopped walking with his back to the boxes, rocking on his heels a bit. He let out a few puffs of air, hands clasped behind his back.

Finally, sure that no one had seen him, he turned around to face the boxes. It wouldn't be a difficult climb to get up to the hole, though the whole thing still bothered him. What _was_ that hole anyway? Letting his eyes scan the area around him, he soon found what he was looking for.

The air vent.

It had been pulled off. His eyes narrowed slightly as a smile played across his face. Somebody must have forgotten to replace said vent into its slot. How very convenient for him. It would practically be a _crime _to not take full advantage of this opportunity.

The thought of freshly baked bread filling his head, he was up on the boxes almost immediately, pulling himself up one at a time. Once at the top, he leaned towards the hole, gripping the sides with his hands. As he let himself go, his feet scuffled a bit precariously against the side of the building. It took him one last push with his arms to get himself into the hole, finding himself on top of a wooden rafter.

It was quite dark inside. Below him was the ceiling of the bakery, and around him, the rafters expanded outwards across the entire room. The only light was coming from the hole behind him and a few cracks between the boards of the ceiling.

Being careful not to fall, he began crawling across the rafter, feeling his way through the darkness. The smell of bread was surrounding him now, along with the heat from the oven. It was only a few minutes before he was sweating, the stuffiness making it slightly difficult to breathe.

But he had to press onward. He could practically taste the bread in his mouth.

He was just beginning to wonder how exactly he was going to get below the ceiling and to the shelf-fulls of baked goods below him when he caught another small light source not too far away. There was a hole in the ceiling.

This kept getting more and more perfect. He almost couldn't believe his good luck. He began crawling faster across the rafter, barely even flinching at the slight pain in his knees.

He was almost there, the hole looming so close in front of him. He pushed himself along the last stretch of rafter, leaning his head forward so that he could look down through it.

And was immediately met with a sore nose as his face came in contact with a body in front of him.

He gave a startled yelp which was echoed by the figure in front of him. He could see it move, whoever it was flailing their arms before falling forward onto the wooden bar. There was a sharp crack, and Andrew felt the entire rafter shake before tilting downward. Unable to keep his balance, he fell forward himself, both of them hitting the ceiling with a resounding thump

"What the hell, man?"

He didn't move, simply lying there in the darkness. The figure next to him didn't either. He could hear his breathing coming out in rather ragged pants.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." It was the only thing he could think of to say. What was he _supposed _to say? "Here... I'll... I'll help..." He began pushing himself up to a standing position.

"_Don't stand up!!_"

But it was too late. There was a crack from below him and suddenly he was falling. He instinctively tried to throw himself forward, but this only resulted in him falling on his companion and taking the both of them through the weak floor. He felt his stomach fly up into his throat as he was almost blinded by the sudden light. The fall itself only took a second or so, though it felt like much longer.

It was almost like déjà vu as he hit the ground for the second time that day, though this time he had something a bit softer to break his fall. As he attempted to shake his head clear, he glanced down at the person he'd so rudely interrupted, coming face-to-face with a scraggly patch of gray fur.

It was a young wolf, that much he could tell, but he had a large bandage wrapped around the left side of his head, covering up his eye completely. The two stared at each other, neither one quite sure who was more surprised by what had just happened.

"_You!_"

The voice snapped both of them out of it, the wolf standing up almost instantly, as if the fall hadn't affected him at all. Andrew simply slid off and onto the ground, glancing back in fear.

"_You! _Get out of my shop!" It was a portly badger wearing a large apron. He was obviously the baker.

The wolf didn't say anything, a rather sly grin on his face. With barely any effort, he hopped onto the counter and then onto a nearby shelf, grabbing two large rolls of sweet bread that were still steaming from the oven. The baker's eyes narrowed, his fur practically bristling. The wolf looked right into his eyes, as if challenging him, then stuffed the bread into the pack he had slung around his shoulder and jumped off, scurrying away.

The baker chased him towards the door, but the smaller animal was far too quick. When he saw that he had no chance of catching him, he decided to change his tactic.

"Oh, yoo-hoo, wolf!"

The young lupine stopped in his tracks, turning his head back towards the baker. The badger, in turn, was now holding Andrew up by the front of his shirt, the ape's legs spinning like crazy as he tried to push himself away.

"I've got your little friend!" The badger smirked. "Turn yourself into me, and I might let him go."

The wolf frowned, turning around to face the baker fully.

"Yes... that's it! Come now, you don't wanna see anything happen to him, do you?"

Andrew was shaking his head in fear.

The wolf shrugged his shoulders. "Psh, why the hell should I care? _I _don't know 'im." He turned towards the door, bringing his hand up to grip the handle.

"D-don't leave me!!" Andrew was practically crying now, his hands trying to wrench apart the badger's grip on his shirt to no avail.

The wolf stopped, hand still on the door knob. His ears twitched slightly.

The badger just laughed. "Yeah, don't leave him!!" He brought his free hand up to scratch beneath his chin. "You know, I _was_ just gonna turn him over to the authorities, but I could have so much more fun doing something else... say... hand him over to the Shank Rats? Toss him down the _sewers_?"

The wolf's one eye narrowed as he continued staring at the door. Finally, he took his hand away, tilting his head up to a normal position. "I'm afraid..." He pulled a small gray knife from his pocket, flicking it open as he turned to face the badger. "...I can't let you do that."

The badger guffawed, and Andrew felt himself shake slightly as he slapped his knee in amusement. "You're gonna _fight me?_ Oh, this is too good. What, you gonna give me a mosquito bite with that little thing?"

The wolf wasn't moving, still stuck in that stance. His eyes were darting about though, scanning the entire room. He had his teeth clenched in a grimace.

"Come on, boy! Or are you all bark and no bite?" The badger's voice was taunting. "You know, I'm glad there's barely any of your species left. All's you were was a bunch of slobbering, violence-crazed idiots who couldn't even stand your own in a-"

He jumped so fast that Andrew could barely see him. Hopping from a nearby counter to one of the shelves behind the badger, he was then on his back in less than an instant. There was a rather startled yelp from the badger, who immediately tried to bat him away, but the wolf was out on his arm now.

Andrew's eyes met his one for just a moment, and suddenly he was being pulled. With a small flash, the knife had sliced through the front of his shirt, and he was free. The wolf grabbed him under his arm, jumping back down from the badger and towards the door in a flurry. The badger, in turn, was simply stupefied for a moment as he stared at the torn fabric he held in his hand, then with an angered growl, he was chasing after them.

The wolf practically ripped the door off its handle as he pulled it open. Andrew could hear his heart racing wildly from his position near his chest as they raced outside, stopping suddenly in the middle of the street.

There was a police officer not more than fifteen feet to their left.

"Shit."

The wolf immediately turned in the opposite direction, before stopping just as suddenly after a few steps.

Another police officer was just turning the corner around a nearby building, now looking straight at them.

"_Shit._"

Readjusting his grip on the small ape he had under his arm, he glanced around frantically, turning back towards the bakery where the badger had just reached the door. His eyes traveled to the building's roof, his mouth muttering something quietly under his breath.

Andrew was just beginning to wonder what they were going to do when they were off again. The wolf ran into the alleyway by the bakery, bounding up the stack of boxes Andrew had climbed up himself not more than ten minutes ago. This time, however, they kept going, a well-placed jump landing them on top of the roof with a small clatter.

He was immediately dropped, landing with a thud on the roof. He gave a small cough as he looked up to the see the wolf walk towards the edge of the roof, standing with his hands on his hips.

"Hey asswipe! I'm up here, ya big tub a' lard!"

The badger down below went positively livid, his face red with anger. "You... you... you get down here right _now_!"

The two policemen they'd seen earlier had joined the badger in his spot in front of the bakery, looking sharp in their black uniforms. "Young man, we're going to have to ask you to get off the roof."

This just made the wolf laugh, an excited, almost maniacal smile spreading across his face. "Well, why don't you come up an' get me?" This was followed by an extended middle finger, causing an audible gasp to come from the badger.

"Get him! _Geeeet_ him!" He was practically jumping up and down with rage.

Before he could even see what the two policemen were planning to do, the wolf had stepped back from the edge and was at Andrew's side once more. Andrew wasn't quite sure why his companion looked so excited when they were so obviously in heaps of trouble, but he didn't say anything. The wolf was on all fours now, looking straight at him with an almost playful grin.

"Alright kid, you're gonna wanna hang on tight because things are about to get _wild_."

Andrew was on his feet, over to the wolf as fast as he could. He practically fell on top of him, wrapping his arms around his neck a bit fearfully. When the wolf turned to face where they'd come up on the boxes, he had to tighten his grip with his legs in order to keep from falling off.

The next couple of seconds seemed to take forever, but the head of one of the police officers finally poked up over the side of the roof, his hard, black hat glinting in the sun.

"Ok, son. We've got you surrounded now. You're gonna have to come down off the roof."

Both Andrew and the wolf turned to the left to see that the other police officer had somehow gotten himself up on the opposite side of the roof. Andrew gave a small whimper, but the wolf seemed unfazed, still smirking as his eyes traveled back and forth between the two officers.

"Come on, boy, you've got nowhere to run."

"If you think two a' you knuckleheads is gonna stop me, then you obviously don't know me very well."

And with that, he was off, scurrying back across the roof and giving a flying leap over the side. He sailed across the heads of the surprised badger and the small cluster of people that had begun to form and landed with a skid in the middle of the road. He paused for only a moment, looking back at the speechless crowd with a challenging grin, and then took off down the street, quickly darting into a nearby alleyway.

Andrew held on as tight as he could, his eyes closed most of the time. Down on all fours, the wolf could run almost twice as fast as he could have normally, nimbly jumping up on a dumpster and propelling himself over a fence that was blocking their way. They landed in a stagnant puddle, water spraying everywhere as he continued sprinting forward behind the buildings.

He could hear the sound of the crowd still a bit faintly, and someone seemed to be blowing a whistle now, but they kept going. The light of the sun was all but cut off by the buildings that surrounded them.

Up ahead, the wolf spotted a wall approaching quickly. He was once again glancing about wildly, attempting to find a second way to go. Deciding without a second thought, he leaped onto a rotted-looking patio that was jutting out from the nearest building and used it to propel himself onto the second floor of a fire escape. A window on that building was open, steam billowing out of it, so he took his chance and jumped from the stairs into the opening, using his feet to push himself all the way inside.

They were in a steam room – that much was certain. They immediately felt the air around them become hot and stuffy, practically suffocating. The wolf stopped, trying to peer through the billowing steam that appeared to be coming from beneath the walls. Andrew felt his head start to spin.

There was a frightened cry from their left, and they turned towards it with a surprise, finding a startled pig in a towel. This was soon followed by other yelps as everyone in the room became alerted to their presence. Andrew found himself coughing, the heat-saturated air difficult to breathe. The wolf was trying to find his way through the steam, but there didn't seem to be an exit.

With a bit of a start, a door across the room opened wide, revealing a rather stoic-looking goose. He was just beginning to walk inside when the wolf took this opportunity to sprint towards him, flying past him and out of the room. The goose was knocked promptly to the floor, a confused expression on his face.

It took them two leaps to get to the bottom of the stairs. Racing past a number of others, including two women who promptly spilled the piles of towels they were carrying, they finally made it to an outside door, bursting back out into the open air.

They were on the streets once more. The wolf glanced quickly to his left and right, scanning the vicinity. They were ok for now, it seemed – they'd come out about two streets over from where the bakery had been, but apparently, they weren't done yet. They were off before he could even catch his breath again, across the street and into the alleys on the other side.

It was like a maze as they ran past building after building, turning around corners, and on occasion, jumping down staircases without even touching the stairs. The alleyways were beginning to grow considerably narrower, and Andrew couldn't help but notice the condition of the buildings worsening as they traveled along. That and the smell – he wasn't sure if he'd ever smelled something so dank and musty.

They came to a rather steep drop-off, and with one quick look, the wolf made his way into the window of a nearby building that had been built right up along the wall. The people in this building barely looked up as they went by, descending the staircases in less than a few seconds. The walls were rather wet, mold covering parts of them, and what little furniture was in the rooms looked positively rotten.

Once making it to the bottom floor, they darted back outside, entering a decidedly darker alleyway that was flanked on both sides by similar-looking, decrepit buildings. Andrew felt his grip on the wolf tighten, though not for his fear of falling off.

They'd just passed a second set of dumpsters when the wolf came to an abrupt stop, practically skidding to a halt. His ears went back on his head as a throaty growl came from between his clenched teeth.

A shadow moved in the darkness before them, moving close enough that Andrew could finally make out the shape of a figure.

"I'm surprised you noticed me. I thought I was fairly well hidden."

"I could smell trash like you a million miles away."

"Ouch, Wolf. You're breaking my heart." The figure took another step forward, finally stepping out of the heavy shadows so he could be visible. It was a rather disgusting looking rat, his fur ratty and unkempt and clothes littered with so many holes they looked like pieces of Swiss cheese. The grease was practically dripping off of him.

The wolf stood up almost instantly, Andrew sliding clean off his back and onto his rear with a harsh thud. Almost as if by instinct, he put his hand out protectively in front of the ape.

The rat laughed, his voice sounding like a dying car engine. "Oh? Who's your friend? Or did you somehow procreate while I wasn't watching?"

"Oh, haha, Sydrick. You're so funny. Now are you gonna let me through or not?" Andrew could see the wolf's hands clenching and unclenching.

"Now, Wolf, you know me _far_ better than that." The rat's slimy tongue was poking out between his teeth. "This _is_ our territory after all."

Andrew couldn't help but feel a growing sense of paranoia. He glanced around nervously, barely making out the shapes of moving shadows in the darkness. He brought a hand up to grip one of the wolf's rolled-up pant legs.

"I was in a hurry, ok? I ran into a little trouble..." His eyes were darting back and forth, obviously having noticed the shadows as well. A small chuckle came from off to their left, echoing slightly against the walls.

"Trouble? Wolf? I thought you were better than that." The rat took another step towards them, the wolf taking a subsequent step back.

"Heh, I could say the same about you." He had his knife back in his hand, twisting it around. He was obviously thinking.

The shadows were close enough that Andrew could now make out the shapes of figures, an occasional murmur reverberating throughout their confined space.

Sydrick's eyes narrowed slightly, a toothy grin beginning to form on his face. "You know, you should really tell that kid he needs to choose better friends."

The wolf didn't respond to this. His free hand had already found its way to Andrew's shoulder, clutching it rather tight. "Kid... _don't, move..._ unless I tell you to." His head was still facing forward, the words coming out hissy between his teeth.

The movement to their left came out of nowhere. A figure emerged from the shadows, the glint of his knife about the only thing visible as he was in front of them in a flash. The wolf, however, had ducked just as the movement had started, now able to narrowly dodge the knife as it cut through the air. He responded by charging forward, bringing his elbow into the rat's stomach and knocking him backwards.

He was immediately met with another rat to his right. The rat was hurtling towards him, a long dagger held out in front. Barely back on his feet in time, the wolf sprung upwards, pouncing on top of the rat's head as he came closer and pushing him into the ground. He landed with a bit of extra force on the rat's back, enjoying the sound of his head knocking against the concrete.

Andrew stayed rooted to his spot, glancing fearfully around him as the shadows jumped out like ghostly apparitions. The nasally voice of a rat's cry was all that alerted him when he saw a figure appear right before him, knife held high. He brought his hands up in front of his face, instinctively shrinking down, but just as he thought he would feel the knife slice through him, he was pulled backwards, flung a few feet away and into a rancid-smelling puddle. He looked up, watching as the wolf took a deep swipe with his own knife at the surprised rat.

The wolf took this opportunity to grab the rat's now limp body and shove it behind him, successfully blocking a back attack that almost took his head off. He turned around, grabbing the new rat by his thin neck and kneeing him straight in the gut.

Andrew's eyes were wide open as he watched, his heart beating so hard against his chest it hurt. The water had already soaked clear through his clothes, but he barely noticed. He tried to sink himself as far as he could into the puddle to avoid being seen. Unfortunately, a quick glance to his right revealed that another rat was already barreling down on him, this one holding some kind of long stick.

He instantly began trying to crawl backwards, but the rat's weapon was already raised above his head. When it came down, there was a rather loud clang as it met the blade of the wolf's knife. Andrew stared up in surprise as his rescuer shook with the force of the blow.

The wolf let out a frustrated grunt as he pushed back against the rat, finally able to gain the upper hand and force the weapon away. With the rat left fully exposed, he took no time in darting forward to shove the knife into his chest. Before the rat could hit the floor, however, the wolf had already turned back around, quickly hauling Andrew up by his shirt just before a club came crashing to the ground.

Andrew gave a startled yelp as he was tossed off the side, the wolf now in fierce combat with the club-wielding rat. There was the sound of metal meeting wood as the rat's blows were parried, though unfortunately, he seemed to be making ground. He was slowly making his way forward, forcing the wolf back towards the wall.

Andrew saw another rat appear from the shadows, a knife in each hand. He was making his way slowly towards the wolf, who obviously hadn't seen him yet due to the blind spot on his left.

"N... no!" Andrew darted forward, hand outstretched.

Both the wolf and the rat he was fighting turned to look towards him, eyes widened in surprise. The rat with the knives whipped his head around, quickly finding the source of the noise before slapping the ape away with the back of his hand.

Andrew went flying a few feet, rolling through the water as he hit the ground. He lifted his head, a bit dazed, to see the rat now heading straight for him, both knives held ready. The wolf gave a strained grunt and pushed back against his own opponent's club, forcing him back enough that he could dart away.

He sprinted across the wet concrete, jumping the last couple of feet and pulling Andrew to his chest before hitting the ground with a painful thud. They continued rolling down the alley from the momentum, the wolf holding him as tight as he could to protect him. When they finally came to a stop, he brought his head up, quickly trying to reorient himself.

Only to feel the icy chill of a blade against his throat.

"Checkmate, Wolf."

Andrew felt the wolf instantly tense up against him. He turned his head ever so slightly to see Sydrick standing above them, looking down with a rather cocky grin on his face. The knife he held down was considerably longer than most of the other rats' had been.

"It seems you've gotten a bit sloppy."

The wolf simply smirked. "Yeah, well, we all have our days."

"Too bad yours happened to be today, eh?" Sydrick had been holding the blade right above the wolf's throat, but now let it travel up a bit to drift mere centimeters above his face. The wolf, in turn, watched it with his one eye, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"I've been meaning to pay you back for the nice scar you left me on my arm..."

"Oh really? I thought you'd like it. Adds character, ya know?"

Andrew would have been surprised by how calm the wolf was acting, even with the blade hovering so close, except that he could feel his body shaking next to him.

"Joke all you want, my lupine friend..." The already wide grin on his face seemed to spread even more, his eyes narrowing. "...but this time, I'm afraid you're going to lose more than an eye." The blade was practically resting on the bridge of his nose now, sliding forward ever so slightly. It left a dark red line in its wake, tears beginning to well up in the wolf's eye.

And all of a sudden, it stopped.

Andrew and the wolf both looked up to find the rat completely tense, his eyes open wide in fear. He appeared to have something wrapped around his neck.

"You know... I really don't think that you want to do that."

The voice was decidedly smooth, coming out of the darkness at the same time as the figure it belonged to became visible. A flash of green told Andrew that it was _something_ reptilian, and he felt himself instantly tense up as well. The shape around Sydrick's neck appeared to be a tail, and it was slowly coiling a bit tighter, the end poking out to trace along the rat's face.

Completely emerged from the darkness now, the chameleon stepped forward to rest an arm across Sydrick's shoulders, bringing his other arm up to wave a rather wicked-looking blade in front of his face.

"In fact, I think it would be in your best interests to drop that knife right now."

It was dropped, landing with a small clatter as it hit the concrete. Its position above the wolf caused it to nick his nose again on the way down.

"Thaaat's right... much better." He was slowly pulling him backwards, holding his shoulders with his arm as if cradling a wounded friend.

"I should have known you had this destitute shmuck hanging around _somewhere_ nearby, _Wolf_." Sydrick's eyes were fixated on the chameleon now, watching him a bit nervously as he simply smiled down at him.

The wolf had gotten to his feet now, the familiar cocky grin returning to his face. "Indeed, _Sydrick_. I thought you said you were always ready for anything?"

The rat's teeth were clenched together. He was obviously quite frustrated with his situation. "The day you emerged from that squalid hellhole you people call home was a sorry day in Cornerian history." This was said to the rather amused chameleon.

"Aw, you're breakin' his heart." The wolf had his hands on his hips, standing over the rat rather triumphantly. The chameleon still had that disturbing smile as he fingered the blade in his hand.

Andrew was practically rooted to his spot, too scared to even stand up from his position. His eyes darted back and forth between the three people in front of him as he chewed on his thumb silently.

The wolf leaned forward slightly. "Now... what was it you said I was gonna lose, hmm?"

Sydrick's eyes widened. "You... you filthy, lousy, degenerate-" He was attempting to thrash out in front of him, but the chameleon's tail was holding him in tight.

"Yeah, yeah, keep 'em comin'. I enjoy being complimented." He'd already flicked out his knife, twirling it in his hands a bit playfully. As he was doing this, however, he caught sight of Andrew still sitting on the ground. He was staring at him, eyes ridiculously wide in fear.

He glanced down at his knife, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he chewed on his lip. After a few moments, he finally let out a sigh, snapping it closed. "Aw Leon, just let 'im go. He's not worth it."

The chameleon looked up at him, not surprised, necessarily, just with his eyebrows slightly raised. With a quick glance down, he let his tail unwind from its grip, sliding off the rat's neck and immediately coiling up behind him.

The rat was on his feet. With barely a second look, he'd dashed a good distance away, not stopping until he had two other rats at his side. He shot death glares back towards the three he'd just left, teeth bared. "Don't think this is the end, Wolf. Not even close!"

The wolf cupped his hands around his mouth. "Wouldn't dream it! I'll be back to beat your sorry ass again any old day!"

Sydrick snarled, but didn't respond, simply turning on his heels and scampering off down the alleyway. The two other rats followed him into the darkness.

By this time, the chameleon was back on his feet. Andrew instinctively crawled a few steps backwards, pushing himself to a standing position as well. Neither of the two seemed to notice though, the wolf nursing his nose with his finger and the chameleon sticking his blade back on his belt, the long, black coat he was wearing completely concealing it.

"Thanks, Leon."

"Don't mention it."

His eye was practically crossed now as he attempted to examine his own nose. "... I hope this doesn't leave a mark..."

Andrew's foot came down in a shallow puddle, splashing the water slightly. The chameleon finally looked towards him at this, tilting his head.

"Who's your friend?"

"No idea. Ran into him at the bakery."

Leon walked over to him, eyes narrowing a bit. Without saying anything, he grabbed the front of his tank top where it'd been cut earlier and brought him in close. Andrew whimpered.

"Freakin' kid almost got us caught, though."

He was scrounging through his hair now, turning his head to the side, eyes searching across his face. He moved down to the shirt and began pulling it away from his body so he could look underneath, nose moving slightly as if smelling for something.

Andrew was glancing down at him nervously, feeling a bit violated as the chameleon moved to repeat the same process with his shorts. He looked over to where the wolf was watching in only half-interest, eyes pleading. "H...help...?"

"Aw, don't worry about Leon. Unlike the rest of his species, he at least needs a _reason_ to kill someone."

He was suddenly gripped by the arm, the chameleon's hand clenched around his arm-warmer. "What's this for?"

Andrew let out a squeak of pain, instinctively pulling backwards and practically falling over. He glanced back up towards Leon a bit ruefully. "N...nothing. I just like it, is all." He was nursing his arm.

Leon raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. His hands moved to the ape's pockets, searching down inside. He pulled out a small pouch with a string hanging off of it.

"H-hey! That's mine!" Andrew reached forward to grab it back, but the chameleon was able to hold him off with a simple raise of his hand.

"Andrew, eh?" He'd pulled his Clefton Elementary nametag out of the pouch. "And what's this? A library card?"

The wolf laughed as he made his way over to the two of them. Andrew simply stared up at him a bit begrudgingly.

"You academy fishbait, Andy?"

The ape looked to the ground, a bit embarrassed. "W...well... no, not yet." His head popped up. "But I'd like to! I..."

The wolf was watching him, scratching the back of his neck.

"...my uncle says I'm too stupid."

Leon was still searching through his pouch. His eyebrows popped up as he pulled a small gold pin out. "Well, now, this is certainly surprising for a kid to be carrying around."

The wolf leaned over to look for himself. "What is it?"

"Ace Wings. It's an award they give out in the Cornerian military." He held it up.

"Hey! Give that back! That's mine!" Andrew was reaching forward again, attempting to grab it as Leon handed the pin up.

The wolf whistled. "Well, golly gee, Andy!" He brought the pin closer to his face so he could see it more clearly. "Who'd ya kill to get this thing?"

Andrew pulled down on the wolf's arms, finally wrenching the pin out of his hands. He held it to his chest protectively. "I didn't kill anyone! It's my mom's!"

Leon had stood up by now, hands slung lazily in his pockets. "Why do _you_ have it if it's your mom's? Don't they normally put those on their uniforms? Or did the Cornerian military change their uniform guidelines while I wasn't looking?" This caused both him and the wolf to snicker.

Andrew's eyes watered slightly as he looked down at the pin. "My mom's dead."

That shut them up.

The wolf brought his hand to his head a bit awkwardly, scratching behind one of his ears. "Oh... sorry." He looked to Leon for help, but didn't receive any as the chameleon simply stared back blankly. "So, uh... you live with your dad then?"

"He's dead too."

The wolf cringed.

"My... my uncle said they... they got in a car crash..." He was already starting to tear up.

Leon stepped forward quickly, popping the ape's chin up with the side of his finger. "Hey, hey, hey. No waterworks." Andrew looked up at him, eyes still a bit teary, but he did his best to hold them in.

"Soooo... you live with your _uncle_ then?"

He nodded, looking back towards the wolf.

"Then why the hell were you lookin' to steal food? You're not a slum kid."

Andrew looked towards the ground, rather ashamed. "I was hungry."

The wolf sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Andy, Andy, Andy, I don't-"

"And I was running away!" Andrew stepped forward with determination. "I... I don't wanna go back there! Everybody hates me!"

His two companions simply looked at each other. Finally, the wolf kneeled down so he could be closer to Andrew's level. "Andy, listen to me. No matter how bad you think things are, you sure as hell don't wanna be out here by yourself. Just think about it – you wanna go through fights like before pretty much every day?"

"Scrounge for food every meal?" Leon piped in from above.

Andrew's eyebrows furrowed as he bit his lip. "N... no..."

The wolf poked his finger against his forehead. "Well, there ya have it. I say you head on back before you find yourself in anymore trouble."

Andrew's eyes stared into his, almost pleading. Just as the wolf was about to stand back up, the ape had darted forward to wrap his arms around his chest.

"Gah!" He was quite taken back. At first he thought the kid was just scared, but after a few seconds he realized that he was holding on so he wouldn't have to go. He tried to pull him off. "A... Andy, let go. Let _go._"

Leon watched them, a smirk on his face.

"_Andy_, get off!" He pushed back on the smaller animal's shoulders, only to have him pop back. He turned his eyes to Leon helplessly, but didn't get any help. "C... clingy little fellah, eh?"

After three more failed attempts to remove him, he finally gave up, shoulders slumping as he let out a sigh. "_Fine_, fine, fine... you can hang around for the night. But seriously, tomorrow? I'm takin' you back – even if it means dumping you off in the middle of downtown, kay?" He emphasized this by pointing back in the direction they'd come from earlier.

Andrew seemed fine with this because he let himself slide to the ground, glancing up happily.

The wolf gave a small cringe, running a hand through his hair. "Anyway, let's just get out of this alleyway. It's startin' to give me the creeps." He began shuffling off, Leon following wordlessly.

Andrew jogged quickly to catch up, falling in step beside the wolf. Without even thinking, he'd brought his hand up to slip into the other's. He tugged down on it. "What's your name?"

The wolf's eye traveled to his hand in concern before coming back up to meet Andrew's, now a bit surprised. He chuckled. "Wolf. Call me Wolf." Glancing to his left, he gestured with his head. "That's Leon."

Andrew still seemed slightly wary of Leon, but he just kept walking, bringing his free hand up so he could chew silently on his thumb. Wolf tried to pull his hand free, shaking it in the air, but the ape didn't even seem to notice, his hand still clenching the other's firmly.

They finally made it out of the alleyway, the sun once again reaching them. It turned the buildings around them a rather striking shade of orangish-red as it was beginning to set, the small puddles of water that littered the ground reflecting the light upwards. There were a number of people milling about once they'd actually made it back to a wider street, though most of them seemed directionless, walking simply to walk. There were also a number of people resting back against the sides of the buildings, thin blankets covering their legs.

Andrew's eyes were open wide as he glanced around, spotting a young-looking squirrel leaning half-way inside a dumpster, his rear up in the air. The air around them felt rather damp and sticky, the smell not much better.

They made their way to a small off-shooting street, Wolf having to tug on Andrew's hand a few times to get him to keep walking. Down this one, there were decidedly less people out and about, the buildings also much closer, many times no space at all between them. Some of them looked like they were falling apart, their front doors either entirely rotten or missing altogether.

Wolf stepped onto the stairs leading up to one of the houses, dragging Andrew behind him. Leon remained on the bottom, now looking up at him with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I suppose I should bid you adieu now that you're no longer in dire trouble."

Wolf grinned a bit sheepishly. "...right."

A small smirk formed on the chameleon's face. "You have fun babysitting now." He tilted his head down in a slight bow towards Andrew. "Andrew." He was giving him regards as well.

Andrew didn't say anything at first, just watching as he walked away, though he did let his hand come up in a small wave. There was something unspoken between his two companions that he couldn't quite place, but he wasn't one to ask about it, let alone understand it even if he was told.

"Alright squirt, c'mon." He felt himself get dragged into the house, worrying slightly that the doorframe might collapse right on top of them as they passed through.

The inside didn't look much better than the outside. What little furniture was even there was strewn about randomly, trash and what looked like scrap wood covering most of the floor. The stairs leading up to the second floor looked more than a bit perilous, many of them cracked or rotted through. Most of the windows on the backside of the house had been boarded up, making it considerably darker as they stepped inside.

"Watch your step."

He didn't really have to be told, his eyes already fixated on the floor beneath him to keep from tripping.

They walked to the room on the left, if you could even call it a room as half of the sidewall looked like it had been ripped clean open. There was a small, battered cupboard sitting against one of the walls, a shade-less lamp on top of it. Andrew also spotted a rather large, though quite ratty recliner against the other wall. He was about to pay it no more heed when he saw a shift of movement from it, and realized with a start that someone was sitting in it.

Wolf had taken off for the cupboard, opening it up and perusing for something, but Andrew stayed where he was in the middle of the room, looking at the chair.

There was a ruffle of black feathers, and whoever was in it rolled over, apparently having woken up from a nap.

"'Zat you, Wolf?"

Andrew didn't say anything.

The crow in the chair tipped the hat he was wearing up so he could see better. His eyes narrowed. "Ya look a bit diff'rent."

By now, Wolf had stood up, bringing with him what looked like a bunged-up, old pie pan. "Over here, Delray."

The old crow looked a bit confused, turning to look at Wolf through squinting eyes.

Wolf, in turn, walked over to stand next to Andrew, bringing a hand up to rustle through his hair. "This is Andy. S'gonna take up residence with us tonight."

"Well, isn't that nice?" The crow removed his hat entirely, tipping his head forward. "Pleased ta meetcha, Andy. Though I must say, you're the oddest-looking cat I've ever seen... you know, I used to have a friend that..."

Wolf had already pulled Andrew out of the room, though the crow kept talking, already gone back in time in his mind. Wolf quickly ushered him up the stairs, guiding him past the holes and cracks.

"Poor bugger's almost as blind as a bat. He can sure go on a long time, though."

They made it to the top of the stairs, Wolf glancing around as if looking for something. Finally, he gave him a few pats on the shoulder, taking a step forward. "Alright, I'll be right back. Wait here for me."

Andrew watched him walk off to the right towards a nearby closed door, opening it almost gingerly before walking inside. He disappeared into the darkened room.

The ape couldn't help himself. Almost immediately, he tiptoed his own way towards the door, finally getting close enough that he could peep inside. It was quite dark, the only light coming from a half-broken lamp that was sitting on the floor near a pile of blankets. He looked around for where Wolf went and found him standing in the middle of the room, the light from the lamp sending dark shadows across his form.

He was opening his pack, pulling out one of the bread loaves he snatched from the bakery earlier. Placing it on the pan, he walked slowly towards the blankets, kneeling down once he got close enough.

The blankets moved. Andrew was surprised to see a figure sitting amongst them – he hadn't even noticed it before. The dim light made it quite difficult to see many details on who it was, though.

He thought he heard Wolf say something, but he could just barely hear it, so he pushed the door open a bit further so he could stick his head further in.

"Is that you, Connor?"

The voice was quiet, coming out of the darkness rather raspy and strained.

"I brought your food, mum." Wolf set the plate down on the blankets in front of the figure.

"Oh, sweetie... thank you." A frail hand reached out of the mess of blankets to pull the plate in.

There was a creak from behind him, and Andrew quickly turned his head, his heartbeat quickening. As he looked around, however, he didn't see anything. It took him a moment, but he soon realized that it was simply the house itself creaking. He couldn't say he was all that surprised as it looked like it could fall down any day now.

He turned back towards the room, hoping to perhaps get a glimpse of the figure.

Wolf's face was right in front of his.

With a startled eep, he took a step backwards, almost falling over.

"I thought I told you to wait over there." Wolf pointed towards the stairs.

Andrew looked towards the ground sheepishly. "I'm s... sorry..."

There was a brief moment of silence before Wolf stepped completely out of the room, bringing the door closed behind him. "Aw, don't worry 'bout it. Come on." He motioned for Andrew to follow, and soon they were walking in the opposite direction, towards another door.

Wolf opened this one with a bit more fervor, swinging it open so they could both step inside. Andrew was met with a sight not all too different from what he'd grown accustomed to within the house, though instead of a random assortment of junk lying about, most of the junk here looked like bits of metal or machine parts. Off in one of the corners was a hammock tied to two of the rafters. It was covered with ratty blankets and a few stained pillows.

Wolf shut the door behind them before stepping out into the room, running a hand across the bridge of his nose gingerly. He made his way over to a small wooden table he had against one of the walls. It, too, was covered with junk, but it also had a half-used toilet paper roll, which is what he picked up now. Tearing a small bit off, he immediately spit into the center of it, bringing it up to rub at the cut on his nose.

He turned back to Andrew. "Feel free to pull up a pillow or something."

Andrew glanced around, finding one nearby that looked like it had fallen off the hammock. He snatched it up and walked back over to Wolf, who had finished cleaning off his nose.

"You don't have to go to the bathroom or nothin', do you?"

Andrew shook his head.

"Good. We don't exactly have the best facilities."

Andrew let the pillow he was holding fall to the floor with a puff of dust, letting himself fall down to it on his rear. Wolf was now searching through some of the junk on the table, a variety of things from hinges to screws to bits of scrap metal falling to the floor. His eyes lit up when he found what he was looking for, pulling a cigarette box out of the mess.

Once he'd taken one of them out, he reached into his back pocket to reveal a lighter. Placing the cigarette in his mouth, he clicked the lighter a few times to get a flame going before bringing it to the cigarette itself. He turned back to Andrew, letting a breath of smoke out of his mouth.

"You ever smoke?"

Andrew gave him a perplexed look before shaking his head no.

"Didn't think so. How old are you, anyway? Nine? Ten?" After replacing the lighter back in his pocket, he slowly lowered himself to the floor, crossing his legs.

Andrew shook his head again. "Eight. I'm in second grade."

Wolf gave a short whistle. "Cripes, you're young." He took another draw from the cigarette before he held it outstretched towards Andrew. "I'm twelve myself, though I don't have a clue what grade that would make me in."

Andrew looked warily at the cigarette, eyes narrowed. Finally, he reached his hand out, taking it from the other's hand tentatively. Not really sure what to do, though, he just sat there and stared at it.

"You go like this." Wolf reached forward, grabbing it once more before sticking it in the ape's mouth.

Andrew tried to take a breath in, but immediately began coughing, the cigarette falling to the floor. He brought a hand to his mouth, still coughing as he attempted to get some air into his lungs.

Wolf simply laughed, picking the cigarette up off the floor and returning it to his own mouth. "I figured that would happen. They're my mom's, really... I figure she won't miss 'em, though. Hell, I'm the one that gets 'em for her." Already thinking of something else, he was on his feet again, this time walking towards the hammock. Andrew watched through watery eyes as the lupine bent over to pick something up off the floor and bring it back.

Sitting back down, Wolf set the rather mangled device down beside him, turning a few dials. "I like to listen to the news." There was a muffled static noise followed by a higher pitched shriek before the sound of a man's voice finally bit through the static.

"That's a radio?"

"Put it together from some old parts I found." Wolf messed around with the wire poking out the top until the voice came through crystal clear.

Andrew leaned forward, putting his weight on his hands, so he could see it more clearly. It definitely didn't look like much, but it seemed to be working well. The man speaking on it was telling them to expect rain tomorrow, as a higher-pressure system was working its way from the northwest.

Wolf settled back down on his rear, tail twitching a bit erratically. Andrew followed his lead and rested back on his pillow as well.

"..._and now for news across the planet, the province of Deninvale is having their annual Lily Festival. They're inviting all those across Corneria to come enjoy the lilies while they're in full-bloom. I know _I_ might be stopping out there."_

Another voice spoke.

"_Indeed, Bob. I don't think you'll find a more beautiful sight all across Corneria!"_

Wolf took a long drag from his cigarette, leaning back on one hand.

Andrew was silent for a while, simply listening to the radio hosts go on about lilies, car races and the rising fuel prices. He was watching Wolf, his own tail having curled up behind him as his shoulders relaxed.

"Hey, Wolf?"

Wolf turned towards him, eyebrows raised upwards. "Hm?"

"Where's your dad?"

Wolf didn't answer, bringing the cigarette back to his mouth. His eye was half-closed. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke up, the cigarette bobbing up and down in his mouth. "My dad was one of those radicals in the lower-class uprising of '23."

Andrew tilted his head in confusion.

"You don't remember that?" Wolf raised an eyebrow. "I guess you mighta been too young. It was a huge thing – a whole bunch of slummies got together thinking they could do something to get rid of the class gap. My dad was one of the main organizers."

He paused for a moment, looking up to the ceiling as another wave of smoke came out of his mouth. "Needless to say, the Cornerian government wasn't exactly pleased. They did everything they could to stop the entire thing before it got any farther." His voice began dying off.

"_...ace pilot James McCloud came back from Macbeth today. It sure is nice to have him back on Corneria."_

"_He and Peppy are getting around everywhere these days. Ever since he left the Cornerian military, he hasn't seemed to rest at all."_

"_Must be that fighting spirit he's got. You think his son's gonna follow in his footsteps someday?"_

"_I wouldn't be surprised – that boy's been flying since he was six! Mark my words, that boy'll be at the academy when he's sixteen."_

Wolf chewed on the end of his cigarette, a strange smile playing across his face. "My dad aimed for the stars, but couldn't get past the clouds."

The two were silent for a few moments, simply listening to the remainder of the radio commentary. Andrew was staring down at a spot on the floor that looked discolored, feeling slightly awkward. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

Wolf shook his cigarette off to the side, watching as a bit of ash fell off and onto the floor. "Well." He returned it to his mouth. "I'm bored 'a this." He reached forward and began twisting one of the dials on the radio again, the static returning. He continued turning it until the sound of drums and a guitar came through, a rather catchy song playing. It was a song that Andrew recognized faintly – it must have been an oldies station.

Wolf abruptly got to his feet, dusting off his rear. "I don't know about you, but _I'm_ starving." He reached to the pack still slung around his neck and pulled out the remaining loaf of bread, tossing it from hand to hand.

Andrew felt his stomach growl unceremoniously as he looked at the bread, suddenly the hunger he'd felt upon first seeing it in the bakery coming back in full. Now that his adrenaline had fully died down from their adventure across town, his body was obviously reminding him that he needed sustenance.

Wolf ripped the bread into two pieces, grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and immediately taking a bite before tossing the remaining piece down to Andrew. "Now _this_ is some good stuff."

Andrew dug in as well, burrowing almost his entire mouth into the piece before breaking a chunk off with his teeth.

Wolf was idly walking around the room now, chewing on the bread as he rocked back and forth on his feet. His head bobbed ever so slightly as he listened to the music coming from the radio.

Andrew finished his fairly quickly. It had, indeed, been delicious, though it left him still more than a bit hungry. At least his stomach wasn't growling anymore. He looked up to see that Wolf had finished his as well, and was now walking over to the one open window in the far wall.

The sky outside had changed from its orangish hue to almost black while they'd been inside. Obviously, the sun had already set.

"What's it like where you live, Andy?" He was staring out the window now, his arms rested on the frame. His cigarette was gone, having been stuck on a scrap of metal that was lying near the wall.

Andrew brought his arms around his knees, resting his head down on them. "What do you mean?"

"What's it like to not have to steal your food everyday?" Wolf turned around to face him, now leaning backwards against the window. "What's it like to have an actual bed to sleep in? What's it like to go to school?"

Andrew just looked up at him, and their eyes met before Wolf looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Letting his eyes fall to the floor, Andrew hugged his knees a bit tighter. "I don't know. It doesn't seem all that great when I'm there." He paused for a moment. "All my uncle does is tell me how worthless I am. I don't have any friends. I..." He fiddled with his arm-warmer, eyes tightening.

Wolf was staring at him now, chewing on his top lip. Finally, he ducked his head down, bringing a hand up to scratch under his bandage. The tune on the radio felt awkwardly upbeat juxtaposed with their conversation.

Andrew was about to speak up again when Wolf abruptly moved away from the wall, his hands reaching behind his head to pull his dingy shirt off as he did. "Enough of this depressing crap. I'm friggin' tired." He gave the shirt a few good shakes before hanging it over the window frame, then, scratching the side of his neck, meandered lazily over to the hammock.

He let himself simply fall onto the ropes, the rafters above creaking slightly with the added weight. Andrew watched as he situated himself, with a bit of difficulty, onto his back, splayed out across the mess of pillows and blankets that were already spread across it. He closed his eye with sigh of comfort.

And then it was silent again. Andrew chewed on his lip softly.

After a few moments, Wolf's eye popped back open, glancing across the room at him. "You comin'?"

Andrew was on his feet in an instant, relief flooding through him. He made his way over to the hammock, pulling himself up onto it with a bit of difficulty. Wolf laughed as he watched, the entire hammock tilting downwards a bit and causing him to slide down. When he was finally all the way on, Andrew crawled over to the lupine's side. He let himself curl up in the safety of the blankets, his head instinctively coming to rest on Wolf's shoulder.

Closing his eyes, he let his tail wrap around his mid-section as a tiny smile crept across his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he opened his eyes next, he couldn't remember where he was at first. When it finally came back to him, he felt a rush of relief. After that, however, his mind began to ask himself why he'd woken up in the first place. Lifting his head ever so slightly, he took notice of the darkness both inside and outside, telling him that it was still late. Or early. He obviously didn't know which.

There was a staticy noise coming from not that far off. Andrew realized it was the radio – apparently the loose dial had lost the station they'd been listening to earlier.

And still, he didn't know why he'd woken up. In fact, he was starting to develop a rather unsettling feeling in his stomach, a wave of nervousness sweeping across him.

He sat up fully in the hammock, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Wolf was still fast asleep next to him, his mouth hung open almost comically. Everything seemed fine... so why was this overwhelming feeling of dread slowly building inside him?

"Sleep well, Andrew?"

The voice startled him so bad he fell backwards, landing on Wolf and almost shaking both of them clear out of the hammock. His heart was practically beating through his chest.

He knew who it was already, almost too scared to look, but he finally did, his eyes gazing out across the room and spotting a familiar figure simply sitting on the far table. Wolf had woken up by now, shaking his head groggily as he tried to reorient himself.

"What... the _hell..._?"

"What the hell indeed. I have similar thoughts concerning why my nephew has seemingly taken up residence in a place such as this." Andross stood up from the table, slowly making his way over to the hammock.

Andrew instinctively pushed himself backwards, one of his hands reaching back to grip Wolf's arm for protection. Wolf, in turn, had finally woken himself completely up, and was now staring towards Andross' figure with his eye narrowed.

Without saying anything, Andross reached forward and grabbed Andrew's arm, yanking him forcefully out of the hammock. The smaller ape's feet caught on the edge, causing him to trip as he came down to the ground, but Andross simply tightened his grip on his arm and pulled him to his feet roughly. Andrew felt tears spring to his eyes.

Wolf gave a small growl as his ears fell back on his head, now sitting up in the hammock.

Andross paid him no heed though, gripping Andrew by his chin and tilting his head upwards. He turned it from side to side with a jerk, his eyes searching. "You're positively filthy." When he let go, Andrew immediately lowered his head to the ground, completely silent.

Wolf had gotten out of the hammock, glaring at Andross with a fury. "Just who do you think you a-"

But Andross grabbed him by the top of his head before he could finish, tilting his head upwards similar to how he'd done Andrew. He pulled up on his eyebrow with his thumb, widening his eye, looking from there to his ears and then down his neck. His fingers dug a bit painfully into the side of his head.

Finally, done with his 'inspection', he let him go with a slight shove, almost knocking him to the ground.

"What's your name, boy?"

Wolf rubbed at his face with the back of his hand, his teeth clenched. "That's none of your busine-"

"_What..._ is your name, boy?" Andross' eyes seemed to pierce into his skull.

"...Wolf."

"I assume you have a last name, or were you born from a parasite in some dumpster?"

"Wolf _O'Donnell._" This was practically spit out.

"There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Andross' voice came out sarcastic and condescending. "Anyway, I suppose I should thank you for looking after my incompetent nephew." He emphasized this by giving Andrew's arm another yank. "Ignorant thing obviously doesn't know right from wrong yet – can't even send him to that cackling henhouse they call 'school' without him running off to who-knows-where."

Wolf looked to Andrew to find him looking back, almost pleading. His eyes had lost most of their life already, appearing somewhat darker.

"It seems it will take some different disciplinary tactics to get it through his head _who_ exactly he's to take orders from." He stiffly straightened the jacket he was wearing, cracking his neck. "Anyway, I'll be taking him back now." His eyes were boring into Wolf's now. "You seem like a competent enough lad. Give me a call when you grow up some... I'm sure I could use you for... something."

And with that, he turned on his heels and walked for the door, pulling Andrew behind him roughly. Andrew looked back over his shoulder towards where Wolf was still standing, their eyes meeting once before another yank forced his head forward.

Wolf watched them go, his hand once more to the side of his head, rubbing it subconsciously. When he heard the door below him open and close with a resounding thud, he let himself walk backwards towards the hammock. A sigh escaped his mouth as he sat down on it.

Looking across the room, he let his feet brush absently against the floor, the string from one of his blankets tickling his ankle. Everything was quiet save the endless static coming from the radio.

When he finally let himself fall back in the mess of blankets, he took to staring up at the rafters, his eye rather unfocused. His own adrenaline was slowing ebbing away, leaving him tired once more, though his thoughts still raced.

As he began drifting off to sleep at last, his final thoughts centered on the boy he'd probably never see again.


End file.
